Blue Apron Review and a Recipe - Coconut Curry Salmon Steaks

You guys are in for a treat today.
I haven't posted a recipe in a while, with my traveling and marathon posts...

But I have one for you today!

I have been wanting to try Blue Apron for a while.   It sounded amazing but I was a little thrown off by the price at first.  But then, Jill sent me a link to a "Rue La La deal" for Blue Apron.  Three meal for 2 for $30.  That is six meals for 30$.  I finally jumped on the Blue Apron band wagon.

What is Blue Apron?  

Well, just a box of deliciousness and awesomeness delivered to your front door.  

(I also adore their little graphics)

Blue Apron sends you a box of pre-measured ingredients and the recipe to your door for 500-700 calorie, 35 minute prep meals. Did I mention high quality, fresher than your super market, season ingredients? You decide what kind of proteins you like (or vegetarian) how many servings you need, and when you would like it delivered. 

I chose 2 servings (me, myself, and lunch), and for the "topics" I chose seafood, poultry and vegetarian, delivered Wednesdays. They send you the menu a week a head of time so you can change your preferences to swap out a meal you don't want- They were going to send me a cob salad and I was like come on guys... I can make a salad on my own- so I unchecked poultry and got a delicious vegetarian recipe instead.

They send you EVERYTHING you need (except salt, pepper, and olive oil- but lets be real, if you don't own these staples you should probably just stick with your easy bake oven). When I got home Wednesday night I was greeted by a big box with three recipes and all the ingredients I would need to create them. 

 Busy-girl-who-still-loves-to-cook heaven. 

 But wait, what if it gets delivered at 9am and I am at work all day. No fear friends, the box is insulated and all of the meats and such are on ice at the bottom of the cooler.

Alright enough of the background mumbo jumbo.  Now you know a little more about Blue Apron and if you still want more details, you can Visit their site HERE.  Now, lets get cooking!

** Disclaimer:  All opinions in this post are my own.  Blue Apron did not pay me to write this post, nor did they compensate the items in the box.  I spent the 30 buckaroos and it was WELL spent.  
But Blue Apron... in the future if you want to hook a sister up... 

Call me, maybe?

  Fine, or email me. 

Coconut Curry Salmon Steaks with Celery & Bok Choy over Barley

(2 servings, 650 calories each serving)

" For this delicious, Thai dish, you’ll use salmon steaks−whole slices of salmon with both fillets and the bone. The bone acts as a natural insulator, slowing down the cooking process and making sure the steaks cook evenly and stay tender. When eating, be cautious as the steaks may contain pin bones"-- Blue Apron 

INGREDIENTS: 

 3 cloves of garlic

2 scalions

1 inch piece of ginger

1 bunch cilantro

1 lemon

1 stalk of celery

6 ounces of baby Bok Choy

3/4 cup pearled barley

1 tbs red curry paste

1 14 ounce can of lite coconut milk

2 salmon steaks

1/2 cup of rice flour
(plus EVOO, Salt, and Pepper)

Front side of your card has a picture, description, and ingredient list.

Just enough food porn to get you excited and get your knife set out. 

Back side of the card has step by step instructions with pictures.  If you are like "omg I can't cook AHHH overwhelmed"  - then this is for you.  Everything is pre-measured, and everything you need is there.  All you have to do is chop, dice, slice, and look at the pretty pictures.  It is that easy friends.  And if you love to cook, you will really enjoy the interesting and diverse meals - especially if you are in a cooking rut like I was.  This is also a great way to integrate more vegetarian meals that are creative and different.

Alright, so you have three meals in this box so step one- sort out the stuff- look at your pretty card and put aside all the ingredients you need for this recipe and drool put the rest in the fridge for tomorrow.  

Now, tie on your apron and get to work. 

Below is a mix of Blue Apron photos and my photos- 

 the recipe is courtesy of Blue Apron

Cook the barley:

Heat a medium pot of salted water to boiling on high. Once boiling, add the barley and cook 18 to 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain thoroughly and transfer to a bowl. Wipe out the pot. Set the barley aside in a warm place as you continue cooking.

(Blue Apron Photo)

Prepare the ingredients:

(Blue Apron Photo)

While the barley cooks, wash and dry the fresh produce. Peel and mince the garlic and ginger. Remove and discard the roots of the scallions, then thinly slice on an angle, separating the white and green parts. Pick the cilantro off the stems; discard the stems. Using a peeler, remove the yellow rind of the lemon; mince the peel to get 2 teaspoons of lemon zest. Quarter the lemon and remove the seeds. Thinly slice the celery on an angle. Cut each bok choy lengthwise into quarters.

Make the curry:

In the same pot used to cook the barley, heat 2 teaspoons of oil on medium-high until hot. Add thegarlic, ginger and white parts of the scallionsand cook, stirring frequently, 1 to 2 minutes, or until fragrant. Add as much of the red curry paste as you’d like (depending on how spicy you’d like the dish to be) and cook 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until toasted and fragrant.

(Blue Apron Photo)

Finish the curry:

Stir the coconut milk, lemon zest and ¼ cup of water into the toasted curry and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, 12 to 15 minutes, or until thoroughly combined and the flavors have melded.

(Blue Apron Photo)

Make the batter & cook the salmon:

While the curry simmers, season both sides of the salmon steaks with salt and pepper then coat each with 1 tablespoon of rice flour (save the rest for the batter). 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining rice flour and ½ cup of water. In a large pan (nonstick, if you have one), heat a ¼-inch layer of oil on medium-high until hot. Once the oil is hot enough that a few drops of batter sizzle immediately when added to the pan, dip both sides of each steak into the rice batter (letting any excess drip off), then carefully add to the pan. Cook 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until cooked through and browned. 

(Blue Apron Photo)

Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt. 

Let rest as you finish cooking.

Add the vegetables to the curry:

Add the celery, bok choy and the juice of 2 of the lemon wedges to the curry. Cook, stirring occasionally, 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until thoroughly combined. Remove from heat. To plate your dish, divide the barley, salmon steaks andcurry between 2 dishes. Garnish with the cilantro, green tops of the scallions and the remaining lemon wedges. Enjoy!

(Blue Apron Photo)

Now, let me say a few things. I had a few fears before I started. "My servings sizes are pretty unrealistic, what if I am starving after this and then eat two servings of it and then turn into a total fat-ass".  

I was pleasantly surprised.

And full.  And satisfied.
Jill warned me it makes a lot of food- but she also eats a lot of salads, is skinny and super healthy so I couldn't trust her on this one.. (Sorry Jill).  But she was right.

 This recipe made two HUGE servings (at only 650 calories each- you read that right). What you see is half of the recipe (1 serving) and I was stuffed. Like the other half is my lunch today and I am going to be one happy fat piggy after lunch. My one complaint would be the "bone in salmon steak" while I loved the rustic look of the salmon with the bone, and get that it served as an insulator for cooking, but despite all that, it was a huge pain in the ass to pull out all these tiny little pin bones while trying to enjoy this delicoiusness. So if you try to replicate this, I would go for the fillet and not be bothered by the bones. 

All that aside, This. was. amazing. I used all of the curry paste and really loved the combination of the kick from the curry and the creaminess from the coconut milk (lite- so you don't feel too guilty). The barley was a nice hearty addition and soaked up some of the sauce. The bok choy and celery gave the dish a nice crunch and green to the plate. I also loved the garnishes of lemon, cilantro and scallions that gave the dish another POP. 

Go make this now.
Or if you are lazy like me, go sign up for Blue Apron and share your recipe with me!

Stay tuned for the other two Blue Apron dinners!